Three Angry Men
by Lacrow
Summary: One bitter scythe and his two best friends equals three angry men. Throw four girls into the mix and a crap load of Chinese food, and you got yourself a story.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Soul Eater. Credit for the title goes to the theatrical play of _'Twelve Angry Men'_

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><p><strong>Three Angry Men<strong>

**by. **Lacrow

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><p>"Life's a bitch, get over it."<p>

"I simply can't!"

"Then suffer."

Death the Kid sat there on his friend's couch, collected though obviously distressed over something. Soul Eater lay on the other end, hanging upside from the cushions as his white hair casually brushed along the carpet on the floor. It had been like that for a while, neither of them quite sure as to exactly how long though.

The day had been pretty uneventful until Kid showed up. Soul had woken up late, took a good half hour shower, then crashed out on the living room. Maka cooked some eggs for him while he was asleep and covered the plate with plastic wrap so he could eat it when he woke up, but he had been too lazy to drag himself up to go get it. Luckily, she wasn't there to to scold him for it. Something about Tsubaki and the mall, but in all honesty he really didn't care. All he wanted was to lay on that couch for the remainder of his long, lazy Saturday.

That was ruined, of course, when his shinigami buddy decided to come banging on his door at twelve in the afternoon. Soul had been sound asleep, till the obvious racket woke him up immediately. In his drowsy fury, the weapon had jumped up from his spot, ran to the door, and threw it open to berate whoever was stupid enough to wake him up. That's of course when Kid came running in, muttering as he walked by him without so much as saying hello. The death god walked into the living room, plopped himself on the couch, and went off on a tangent about his problems. And the rest, as they say, is history.

"I just don't get it Soul! How can they be so _infuriating _sometimes?" Kid fumed, clutching his knees as he stared at the coffee table in front of him.

"Who? Liz and Patti, or just women in general?"

Kid sighed. "Both."

Still hanging aimlessly from his spot on the couch, Soul quickly pulled himself up and swiveled around to plant his feet firmly on the ground. Kid watched from the corners of his eye as his friend got up and, without a word, walked into the kitchen towards the refrigerator. A second later he returned with two cokes, tossing one of them into the air towards the shinigami, to which the latter frantically caught.

"I don't know, maybe because you let them get to you?" he replied casually, sliding himself back into his seat.

The two popped open the caps to their drinks in unison, tossing back their heads as they let the cool drink run down their throats. Soul grinned as he gulped it down, wiping away the excess with his sleeve. Kid merely put the can on the coffee table when he was finished with it, giving a tired sigh as he did.

"It's a little hard _not _to when all they do is ruin my perfect symmetry! Patti especially!" the death god ground back at him.

Soul shrugged. "Kind of sounds like you had it coming to you. What with the boob grabbing thing and all..."

Kid pondered for a moment. Thinking back on the situation, he remembered as Patti went with a marker and drew cute little animals all over his wall. Obviously he was pissed; how could she do _one _wall and not the _other _three_? _It disgusted him, so much so that he went into one of his usual obsessive fits. In the heat of the moment, Kid went around the entire house in a frenzy. Anything that was slightly off, he worked at tirelessly until it was fixed. Everything was uniform. Absolutely perfect.

That was, until, he got to Liz. He didn't notice her, but she had slipped in behind him and stood there with her younger sister, staring indifferently at him as he went around correcting things. After everything _else _was done, he turned around to proclaim to Patti that everything was in now in order. One look at the two of them in matching uniforms started him right back up again. They were in matching style, not so much equal proportions. He rushed up to them, grabbing their differing busts to compare cup sizes. It only took a few moments of heckling on his part, and soon a livid Liz kicked him out of his own house onto the streets. Again, the rest is history.

"...I don't understand." Kid finally muttered, running a hand through his hair. "It's not like I haven't done that before."

"Well, did they get pissed off the last time you did it?"

Kid shifted in his seat. "Well, yes but..."

"...do I really have to spell it out for you then?" Soul replied flatly. "You're a lot smarter than me, Kid. I think you can figure it out."

The shinigami reached over for the nearly full coke can. He nodded his head slightly before taking a sip. "I guess you're right."

"Great. Now if only I heard that from Maka more often..."

Soul Eater threw his arms behind his head and leaned back on the sofa, putting his feet up on the very edge of the coffee table. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back, savoring the little time he had with the inside of his eyelids. Kid remained seated quietly, surveying his friend's apartment and all the little knick-knacks that filled it. The room was cramped. Two posters covered the walls on either side and a stereo took up about a third of the room, all of which he guessed belonged to Soul. The rest were Maka's obvious touches. A lamp in the corner, some pictures of the meister and her weapon. There wasn't much room, but they filled it up nicely. Balanced.

"...So how are you and Maka doing?"

Soul cracked open one of his eyes. "Ok, I guess. Why you wanna know?"

"Just wondering, I suppose."

"Well," he started up again, eyes slowly widening in contemplation. "I make a mess, she yells at me. She asks me to do something stupid, I yell at her. Then I get Maka-Chopped..."

Kid smiled, making sure not to let Soul see. The latter, however, was too busy thinking to notice as he continued.

"...then of course we get pissed off and leave the other alone to go vent. Then one of us comes back, apologizes, and everything's good till the next time it happens. Rinse, repeat. I could set my watch to it."

His associate looked him over and noticed the now distant look in Soul's eyes, as if his thinking had just brought him to some big conclusion. The shinigami waited patiently for Soul to say something else, but when the words failed to come out on their own, he decided to force them out.

"And you're okay with this?"

"You're kidding, right? I fuckin' hate it." Soul snorted, snapping himself out of his stare.

Kid look at him in earnest. "Why is that?"

Soul thought for a moment as to why his relationship with her pissed him off so much. What was really so bad about it? They bickered, yeah, but always got over it in the end. Never once had they had a serious fight, or at least one where they weren't sure that the other was still going to talk to the other afterwards. It was full of trust, which was more than he could say for her mother and father's relationship together. So why then was he so upset with his own?

He looked at his friend, then at the coke can on the table. Eyes flat, he reached over for the soda and scornfully downed the rest of the drink, making sure to throw the empty can behind him into the kitchen. It landed with an audible clank somewhere on the floor. Maka would give him hell for it later, but at the moment he really didn't care.

"She's my partner. I live with her. I'd take a sword in the chest for her. You meister's don't know what it's like to be a weapon. Blindly loyal no matter what, not that I mind. I just wish she understood that."

"I'm sorry Soul." Kid replied sympathetically. "But, I honestly don't see where you're going with this."

The scythe shook his head. "I didn't expect you to. No offense, but I think I should talk with someone else about this stuff."

"You mean like Black Star?" Kid deadpanned, staring flatly at Soul as the latter looked back at him. The same look spread across his own face.

"Now that I think about it, never mind. Bad idea."

Suddenly the floor started to shake, and a loud commotion came from outside the apartment door. The meister and weapon immediately turned their heads towards the direction of the noise, not having enough time to get up before a loud thumping graced their ears. They looked at each other, then back at the door. Soul started to get up to see who it was, only to yet again be cut off as the door suddenly thrust open, revealing a hunched over and panting Black Star as sweat dripped from his face. His face burned red.

"Well speak of the devil..."

"Those _bitches!" _he hissed, staring at Soul as he collected his breath.

The white haired boy casually looked behind him, gauging Kid's reaction to the whole thing. He seemed about as calm as usual. Soul then looked back at his best friend, the assassin at a loss for words as he stood there in the doorway. Contemplating for a moment, the scythe shrugged to himself as he accepted the situation. Black Star watched as Soul walked past him. He grabbed one of the nice chairs in the corner and sat it across the table in front of the couch. Then, as he walked back to his previous seat, threw a look back his way as he fell to the couch smoothly.

"Have a seat."

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><p>Twelve packs of take-out Chinese food littered the coffee table as the three boys whittled away diligently at the collection of food they had ordered. Black Star used chopsticks, Kid used a fork, while Soul used a combination of both for added efficiency. Each personal collection of empty boxes equated to the amount of pissed off they were experiencing; Black Star had eaten through six whole packs, Kid a whopping three, with Soul in the rear with a measly two.<p>

One box left in the middle of the table, and Black Star could not pick it up quick enough. Throwing the lid open, he took his chopsticks and began to devour the rice and pork inside. Kid watched, slightly sickened by the display. Soul had long since stretched his legs across the couch, and was instead focused on trying to finish his second box. The allure of food wasn't with him, he just wasn't that hungry. He spared a passing glance as his best friend annihilated the rice and tossed the carcass of a box onto the pile in the middle of the table. Soul's stomach lurched. _That_ probably had something to do with his lack of appetite.

"A great god..." Black Star started, interrupted by a burp as he let the chopsticks fall from his hands. "...deserves a great meal. Dam that was good!"

"Glad you liked it, considering the fact that I just spent thirty dollars to please your _highness._" Kid replied coldly.

"It wasn't worth thirty bucks, that's for sure."

Soul shook his head. He couldn't finish the dam thing. Silently he packed up the half eaten box and put it with the others, attracting Black Star's attention has he returned to his spot and fell lax against a pillow. The assassin watched him as he put his arms behind his back and closed his eyes, the latter sighing in distaste.

"The hell is your problem? You didn't even eat!" Black Star prodded him.

Soul shrugged. "Wasn't hungry."

The blue haired boy snorted as he leaned against the back of his chair. "Maka got you eating like a woman now?"

"Shut the fuck up."

"_Both _of you shut up!" Kid interjected, rubbing both sides of his temples with his fingers. "We all just need to breathe for a second."

Black Star huffed, muttering underneath his breath something along the lines of breathing being for pansies. Soul continued to glare at the meister until he sneaked a look Kid's way. The shinigami stared back at him coldly, causing the weapon to give in. He broke his eyes away from the other two, opting instead to look at the back of the back part of the couch. A minute passed. Then another. And another.

By the time their little break had ended, five minutes had passed since any of them had spoken to each other. When all was said and done, however, none of them felt particularly chipper. Actually, they probably felt _worse. _

"...so why'd Tsubaki get pissed off at you?" Soul finally mumbled aloud, still staring at the couch.

The meister spat. "It was that dam partner of your's! She got all pissed off! The nerve of that brat, getting ticked off at a god like _me_! Then Tsubaki got pissed off cuz she was all emotional or whatever, and the next thing I know she's kicking my ass around the store!"

Soul turned his head to face Black Star's. "Why was Maka upset at you?"

"Because!" he sneered, as if remembering a happy moment. "Tsubaki dragged me along to the mall with her and Maka so the two of them could try on dresses. I split up with them and went around the place until the time came to meet back up with them. I walk into the store they told me to meet them at, and all I see is the two of them wearing the _exact_ same dress!"

Kid's brow raised. "What's so weird about that?"

"Nothing much, except when only one of them can actually _fit _inside the thing, if you catch my drift!" Black Star quipped, folding his arms as if in victory. "Naturally I called her Ms. Tiny-Tits, and the next thing I know Maka's freaking out and throwing books at my head for no reason! It's not like I let the cat out of the bag with that one, Soul's been calling her that for years!"

The scythe's eyes narrowed at the meister. "Yeah, and only _I _can call her that! Not you!"

Black Star instantly jumped up from his seat and stared down at his best friend. It didn't take long for Soul to do the same, and in a moment they were glaring at the other, faces close as they aggressively invaded the other's personal space.

"_Don't _pull that overprotective shit with me, Soul!" the assassin breathed in his face. "I'm not in the mood!"

The albino glared at him. "_Don't _tell me what to do, Star! Get off the fuckin' rag!"

"Dammit, you're both acting like children!" Kid shouted, suddenly hopping to his feet. "Cut the crap!"

The air inside that tiny apartment of theirs grew thick with tension. Soul and Star continued to glare at each other, neither letting up. Kid stood at the other end of the room, poised to jump in should they start to fight. A moment passed and nothing happened. Thankfully, the climax had already passed. Slowly, and without a word, the two buddies began to back away. They continued to stare, but their glares had softened at the realization of their childishness. They eased themselves back into their seats, gradually breaking their gazes as they settled down.

Kid remained standing, still eying the two boys warily. When he caught the guilty looks on their faces and the ease of their bodies, he concluded that there was nothing left to worry about. He too fell to his seat and as he did, all became silent again. None of them looked at the others in the eyes, nor did anyone try to start up another conversation. It was quiet for a reason; they all needed to let off some steam.

"Why the hell are we so pissed off...?" Soul asked himself.

It was a very good question, one that didn't have a definitive answer. They were all ticked off, but for very different reasons. Kid's problems were obvious; he had OCD and two weapons that agitated it. Throw in the fact that he was a teenage boy living with two smoking hot sisters, and it was a hot bed of strange emotions.

Black Star's issues were too many to count. He was loud, obnoxious, and suffered from a superiority complex, but that had little to do with his current predicament. His troubles probably stemmed from the fact that Tsubaki's opinion was the one person's whom he actually cared for. If _she _disapproved of his behavior, then he was obviously doing something wrong. But, gods don't do the wrong thing. How could he then, if he was to _surpass_ god? Soul's mind boggled, no wonder the kid was so p.o'd.

Finally it was his turn for self analysis. Why was he so irked? That 'overprotective' remark about Maka really dug into him. What did Star mean by that? Sure he watched over her, but that was his duty. His _job. _He was a fricken death-scythe for crying out loud! If he couldn't protect his own meister's feelings, then what chance did he have of keeping her alive during kishin hunts? Or to fend off weapon suitors if they came too close to her? What chance did he have at making her happy...?

"...I'm sorry for being an ass, man."

Soul broke off from his thoughts as he lifted his head up to see Black Star hunched over in his seat, grinning at him. He had his hand behind him, scratching the back of his scalp as he gave his awkward smile. The apology caught him off guard, but he felt guilty about the entire ordeal as well. So, returning his friend's grin, Soul reached over and held out his hand. Black Star's smile went from awkward to exuberant as he smacked their hands together, laughing loudly at their renewed friendship.

"Glad that's finally settled." Kid sighed, lips curled into a tiny smile. "You two were really starting to get on my nerves."

Soul snorted. "_Starting_ to? I'm pretty sure I heard you cuss more than once Kid."

"Yes, well, all in the name of getting my point across!"

Black star laughed at the shinigami. "You're so full of shit!"

"Well it worked, didn't it?" Kid replied with a snaking grin on his face.

The thick air lifted, and the three of them let their smiles and jeers push out the anger that had been looming over them all day. Now that they had vented, the only thing left to do was make up for wasted time. It was three in the afternoon, and all they had done that day was get mad at everyone else and even themselves. The two meisters and one weapon needed to celebrate somehow, so they did it the only way they knew how to without leaving the apartment.

They ordered more take-out.

* * *

><p>"So what's the deal with you two anyway?"<p>

Soul shrugged at the question as he slurped up the ramen from his cup. The hot liquid it bathed in came splashing up, catching his face as he desperately tried to swallow the pasta before it burnt the inside of his mouth. Kid sat next to him on the carpet, carefully blowing on the deadly mixture before chewing on it cautiously.

"Houf fud fyeno!" the scythe replied with noodles in his mouth, cringing as the boiling water scalded his cheeks.

"What do you mean, 'how should I know'?" Black Star scolded him, miraculously translating his words without much hassle. "You two fricken live together for crying out loud! You must know something!"

The white haired boy slurped up the last of his ramen, avoiding the question. The problem was he really didn't know. He had spent untold amounts of time pondering the exact same thing, but even then he couldn't come up with an answer. In all honesty it ate away at him. What did Maka and him have together? A partnership? That much was obvious, the only question was, what kind?

"I tried asking him the same thing, Black Star." Kid explained, still blowing evenly along the smoke in a symmetrical fashion. "He won't give you a straight answer."

"Like hell he won't!" Star huffed, eying his buddy menacingly as the latter finally cleared his mouth of all food.

Soul breathed out and let the smoke escape from his mouth, a satisfied grin on his face. "I won't."

"We'll see about that! A _god_ always get's what he wants!"

Black Star leaned back and grabbed his own cup of ramen. Taking his chop-sticks, he quickly began rushing the food into his mouth as if in an imaginary race with somebody. Soul snickered at the display as he continued with his own cup, killing off the rest of it as he tossed the empty cup aside. Kid did the same, only it was his first cup. The scythe had just thrown away his second. Black Star, of course, was working on his third.

Leaning back with a hand on his stomach, Soul looked up at his ceiling. Quickly, he smiled in amusement at his own possessiveness. It was _his _ceiling, just as it was _his _apartment. The only thing was, he shared it with Maka. _His _meister, not anyone else's. He wondered if these thoughts made him a bad person, but he quickly dismissed the idea. He wasn't overbearing. Not a complete douche to anyone who came near her. It was only those certain few whom he knew could cause her harm that he took offense to, but even then, Maka was a big girl. She could take care of herself. He was just there to help her when she needed it.

"...I think..." Kid started, breaking Soul out of his thoughts. "...that you care for her more than you lead on."

Soul didn't respond. He merely looked out in front of him at the assassin who sat there with his arms and legs crossed, staring back at him with stoic eyes. His ramen cup had long since been emptied, and his carefree attitude had been replaced with with a serious one. Intervention time.

"Gotta agree with Kid on this one."

The scythe merely shook his head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Bullshit." Black Star snorted, causing Soul's expression to become strained. "Even _you _know that's a lie."

Soul ducked his head. It _was _a lie. He knew dam well that he cared for Maka more than just a weapon does for his meister. More than a partner should care for their significant other. The only problem was, how would she react when she found out? _Should_ she even find out? He knew he would stick by her till the moment she kicked him out to the curb, but he feared that if he told her the truth, that time would come sooner rather than later.

"Even if I did, it doesn't change anything." Soul replied casually, though deep down his stomach was in knots.

Black Star grinned through large white teeth. "No duh, you idiot!"

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused by his words.

"He means that nothing about the two of you will change if you admit to her your feelings." Kid replied flatly, gathering the attention of Soul as he did. "We both know you, and I know I speak for Black Star as well when I say that no matter what goes on between you and Maka, your relationship will stay the same no matter what."

"Yeah! What Kid said!" the blue haired boy snickered.

Soul looked at the two of them, baffled. Was it really that simple? Just go up to her and tell her? The thought never crossed his mind before, mostly because he never bothered to really think about it before that day. Still, with his buddies cheering him on in full support, what did he have to lose?

"You guys really think so?"

"Dude, I'm a fricken god. I _know_ these things!" his best friend howled, causing Kid to nod in reserved agreement.

"Be sure to tell her the next time you see her."

Soul Eater took a deep breath and sighed. All of this was so uncool. "Alright, alright. Fine. I guess I'll tell Maka when she gets-"

"-_Tell me what?"_

The poor death-scythe froze dead in his spot. Kid flung himself around and caught of four young women standing in the middle of the now open doorway. The shinigami's heart sank when he spun around and saw the shocked face of Black Star, utterly dumbfounded as his eyes stared wide at the view of Maka and the entourage of girls behind her. In their discussion, none of the three had heard their key as they unlocked the door and opened it. Now their friend was paying the ultimate price for it.

"M-m...Maka...?" Soul managed to sputter, his back still thankfully to her.

The ashy blonde girl placed her shopping bags on the floor as Tsubaki, Liz, and Patti remained quiet behind her. "What's going on in here anyway?"

He didn't respond to her. Instead, he merely looked at his two best friends and motioned at the other three girls in the doorway. Without saying a word, he passed on a simple request; get them out of here. Black Star and Kid payed each other a glance, then nodded to Soul. They immediately got up and made their way over to their respective partners, the ladies being in a much better mood than they were a few hours ago.

Tsubaki, Liz, and Patti were all confused by the sudden rush to get out, and audibly gave their meisters protest. Maka watched as the two boys gave their girls hushed smiles, prodding them out the door with promises of explaining everything later. All five of them herded out of the apartment and started to make their way down their stairs, but not before Kid and Black Star threw their heads back and gave Soul a request of their own.

"Tell us how it goes!" was all they said. Then in a flash, they were gone.

That just left a very lonely Soul Eater sitting on the carpet, his back still to his meister as he bowed his head so she couldn't see it. He didn't know what his face looked like, but he felt like anyone who saw it would instantly see the weakness in his eyes as well. And how was Maka supposed to go for an uncool guy like _that?_

Maka's brows flattened. "Soul, what the hell is going on?"

Taking a deep breath, he collected himself. The scythe swiveled around, his hands places inside his lap. He looked up at her with solid determination. "Just talking."

"About what, might I ask?" she replied with hands on her hips, surveying the mess of food cartons in the living room.

"You're gonna find out pretty soon, I-"

"-Ugh! Soul, why is there trash everywhere?"

Maka was referring now to the soda cans sprawled out on the kitchen floor as she walked in. He cringed, completely forgetting about the one can he threw back there, along with Black Star's other three. It was a long day, with three angry men and lots of take-out food, so there was bound to be even more trash lurking around somewhere.

"Well, Kid came over with some problems. Then Black Star-"

"-Don't even get me started on him!" Maka seethed, the words barely escaping past her clenched teeth. "He's lucky I didn't kick his ass when he walked by just now!"

"Yeah, I heard about what happened. I got pis-"

"-The nerve of that guy! Calling me names like a five year old! It's bad enough I get it from you, now I have another moron to deal with!"

Soul's teeth grated. He hated the way she put so much emphasis on _another _moron. What the fuck did he do to her? Breathe? The death-scythe could feel his anger starting to return, after he had spent a good hour or so trying to keep it in check. The thought of losing that control just pissed him off even more, and soon he was just as livid as his meister as she continued to go off on a tangent about something. What was he? Her punching bag?

The bleach haired boy silently got up from his place in the living room and made his way over to the tiny kitchen. He pulled up a chair and sat down at the table where Maka had thrown her shopping bags. He rest head in the palm of his hand as he watched her go back and forth, cursing under her breath.

"And what's this!" she hounded at him, picking up the completely untouched plate of eggs from this morning. "I made it for you, and you didn't even eat it!"

"I wasn't hungry." he replied flatly. His patience was growing thin.

Maka gave a low grunt. "You could have at _least _thrown it away! God, how can you be so inconsiderate?"

_He _was inconsiderate? Never mind the fact that he had just helped two friends through their problems, when he could have easily just stayed asleep and not give a dam about them. It's not like he was the one who came into the apartment and started going off on his partner like it was all _her _fault, which it clearly wasn't. His blood started to boil. How the hell could he have fallen for a girl like this?

"There's no way I'm cleaning this place up, Soul! This is all on you!"

Soul Eater just sat there, continuing to wonder. Why did this seem so familiar to him? Deja vu? A similar occurence before? Then it dawned on him. This was _exactly _what he had told Kid earlier. All they did was fight, leave, then come back later to make up. The same dam thing, over and over again.

Maka brought a palm to her face. "I wonder how anyone could be as lazy as you! I don't even think it's possible!"

Was this all their friendship was? Just one stupid fight after another? It couldn't be, he wouldn't allow it. Maybe she had a predisposition for lousy relationships, to which he soundly blamed her father for. Still, it took two to tango, and Soul was _not _going to let his feelings for her falter. He wasn't going to allow them to fall into a loop of hurt and comfort, some kind of twisted loop that the other fed off of like a vampire. He wanted more than that. They deserved _better _than that.

"I swear to god, Soul! Just get out of here before I kick you out myself!"

That was his queue. Soul instantly jumped up from his spot and let the chair fall behind him as he lunged towards Maka, the latter completely surprised as her wrists were wrenched away by her weapon's hands. Too shocked to resist, the meister just stood there as Soul brought his face closer to hers, peering into her eyes with his own that seemed to tell her with unspoken words that something was wrong. His stoic face garnered her full attention.

"You know, for the smartest girl I know, you can be pretty fuckin' stupid sometimes." he looked down on Maka, pulling her towards him.

"W-what? What are you talking about, Soul?" she managed to stammer back.

Normally his comment would have warranted a Maka-Chop, but something told her that just wouldn't be appropriate. Instead she let her muscles go limp as Soul released his hold on her, the two of them now standing not even a few inches away from each other.

"All we ever do is fight and make up. I'm tired of it, I want something more than that."

"Soul, what are you saying? That you don't want to be partners anymore...?" Maka's heart sank as the words escaped her mouth.

He shook his head. "That's not what I'm saying at all. Our relationship just needs to change, that's all."

"...Do you want to move out?"

Again he shook his head. Was every intelligent person today taking stupid pills or something? First Kid couldn't pick up on the obvious, now Maka couldn't even take a simple hint! He wondered how he should break it to her, but every way thought of just sounded so cheesy in his head. So uncool.

"I want us to have more together."

Maka's face contorted to confusion. "You mean like a bigger apartment? I don't think we can afford it, Soul."

"No..." the weapon ground out through his teeth. His anger kept wanting to break through. "...I just want us to be happy. Together."

"Well I'm not exactly thrilled right now, but overall I think we have it pretty good together. Don't you?" she asked gingerly.

Soul clenched his fists. What the _fuck _was her problem? She could score a perfect 100 on an insanely difficult test, but when it came to love she was about as smart as Black Star was with basic level addition and subtraction. His sharp teeth clamped down so hard they were very near to breaking. If he heard _one _more stupid reply out of her, Soul was going to go ballistic.

"Soul." she started up again, causing his eyes to narrow at her. "I don't know what you're trying to get at, but I'm tired, so if we can just forget about the whole thing..."

The death-scythe snapped like a twig. He reached out towards Maka and grabbed the young woman's wrists yet again, this time pushing her against the kitchen wall behind her. She yelped as he threw his face into hers and stared at her menacingly with his furious red eyes, his body pressing against her in order to keep her still.

"You just don't get it, do you!"

Maka struggled against him, but couldn't break free. "Soul! What the hell is your problem? Let me go!"

"My _problem..."_ he growled at the squirming girl, pinning her arms to the wall behind her. "...is that I'm trying to tell my meister that I _fucking _love her, and she's too much of a dunce to realize it!"

Her eyes widened immediately, causing Soul to flash a devilish grin her way. She continued to squirm for a moment after that, but quickly fell limp as his body continued to press against hers. The fight was over, but still he held onto her. She didn't push him away, so he figured he must've been doing something right. Going with the flow, he pressed his forehead against hers and watched as Maka stared right back at him. It was quiet.

She gave a tremulous sigh. "...You what?"

"You heard me, bookworm." he continued to grin at her, slowly easing himself between her thighs. She didn't resist.

"Since when?"

He didn't answer her that time. Instead he released her wrists and brought his hands along her hips, holding onto them as he leaned in towards her. At first she accepted him, not saying a word as their lips came closer together. But at the first sensation of them touching, Maka immediately freaked out. Reaching for the only thing close by, a ladle, she brought it towards him as it collided with his head. Soul reeled backwards as he grasped the point of impact, howling in pain.

Maka slid along the wall towards the floor in embarrassment, folding her arms across her chest as a reaction of not knowing what to do. After the initial pain of having a ladle smacked against his head however, Soul Eater burst into laughter at the reaction he got out of his meister. She looked up at him and through her reddened face smiled at him, both in sympathy and delight.

"...Did you mean it?"

The weapon looked down at his meister, letting his laughter dissipate as he saw her pink, smiling face. He loved the sight. He wished he saw her like that more often, instead of the deep red of anger that he had become so accustomed to. Soul crouched down and instinctively reached for her hand. She gave it to him wholeheartedly, just as she did when he leaned in for another kiss. This time, there was no ladle.

"Every word of it." he told her, breaking apart from their embrace.

"You better have." Maka sighed as Soul helped her get back on her feet. "Because I love you too."

Soul's eyes widened. "Since when?"

Maka shook her head in amusement as she leaned in to kiss him again. Their lips coming together one last time, Soul's thoughts quickly vanished. He smiled inwardly to himself, realizing she was doing the exact same thing he had done to her. It surprised him just how well it actually worked.

"Right, I'll shut up now." he smiled as she slowly pulled away. She looked up at him sweetly.

"Good."

Soul snaked his arms around her before she had a chance to fully step back. Being pulled towards him, Maka could do nothing more than throw her arms around him as he held onto her tightly. That possessiveness of his had it's benefits, he concluded smugly.

And there they stood, in the middle of their kitchen, with trash all around and shopping bags behind them. It was all so strange. Not even a few hours before, Soul was bitching about the way they fought with each other. Now the two of them were hugging and kissing each other, acting as if it had always been that way. Kid's words rung in his mind as he realized that the death god had been exactly right. Nothing _felt _different, even though things clearly were. It all just felt sort of right.

"So what do we know now?" Maka asked quietly.

Soul shrugged as he leaned froward with her. "Beats me."

That devilish smirk of his returned as a thought entered his mind. Maka looked at him warily as waddled with her over towards the kitchen counter. With his arms around her Soul propped the girl up on it and scooted himself in between her legs. Her face blushed bright red as he leaned against her, his sharp teeth bore open as his breath brushed against her lips.

"You know, you and I could-"

"-Don't even think about it." she cut him off quickly, eyes narrowed though soft.

"Aw, come on!" Soul sneered as he slid his hand along the inside of her exposed thigh, causing Maka to jump a little. "It'd be a hell of a way to start things off!"

The ashy blonde girl shook her head no, but gave him a response that sent an enthusiastic shiver down his spine. "Maybe someday. If you're lucky."

Soul couldn't help but to smile. Not that perverse, lustful smile he had just given her, but a real one. What had he said earlier? That their relationship was full of trust? He had hit the nail right on the head. Maka actually trusted him _that _much to say something like that. It wasn't a promise or anything, but it meant as much to Soul as a real one would. It was a feeling that he very rarely felt. Pure exuberance.

At that moment, he didn't have the heart to stay in that compromising position of theirs. Soul bumped their heads together as a sign, and he backed away so as to let her back down. Maka smiled at him as she plopped her feet back on the ground. Without a word she came up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, as if thanking him for not being a total ass.

"I think I have an idea." he said casually, acting as if he hadn't just been kissed on the cheek.

Maka could still see the slight twinge of red in his face and laughed. "About what?"

"What we should do now."

"Well, what is it?"

Soul looked around. There were coke cans on the floor, two fully loaded shopping bags on the table, a kitchen chair that had flung itself into the adjacent living room, and multiple packs of differing kinds of rice and pasta sprawled all over said living room. The place was a mess, but the bleach haired boy figured what the hell. Why not pile it on some more.

"Feel like some take-out?"

* * *

><p><strong>A.N.<strong>

What do women really want?

I find myself being asked that question frequently. My friends are fairly intellectual, so usually discussions range from serious to silly. One of course being the aforementioned question. Maybe it's because I'm the only one in a real relationship, but I'm usually the one to answer. Unfortunately, I realize anything I come up with is probably wrong. I'm a guy. We're _always _wrong.

And thus the term 'bros before hoes' was born. Sometimes you just need your buddies to help you get back on your feet. Maybe I'm exaggerating a tad, but the sentiment's there all the same! :P


End file.
